This is in response to comments made during public input at the City Council meeting Tuesday night regarding the Teacher’s Union contract.
First and foremost, Mrs. Hubbard is a School Board member and a former teacher. So it may be a fair assumption she is also one of those lucky individuals who will receive free health care for the rest of her life. She may also be on a teacher’s pension plan. Hmm, is her pension from the state of New Hampshire? You know the one that the taxpayers support? I am glad that her pension allows her to maintain the lifestyle she has grown accustomed to. As far as her comment “My taxes are my responsibility to live in a civilized society.” Everybody is aware that paying taxes is their responsibility. The problem that most taxpayers are having is since when did it become the civic responsibility of the unions to bankrupt the bill payer. Mrs. Hubbard appears to be set. Her investments may fluctuate, but let us be honest unions need the private sector in order to foot the bill for all the perks. The taxpayer constantly sees the tax rate increase because certain individuals on the City Council never say no to the Teacher’s Union. However, they seem to find their voice when it comes to the Police and Firefighters.
The reality of life is that people are finally waking up. We have some very fine teachers in our district, but we have some that should have retired with Mrs. Hubbard. The honest fact is that the teachers do not work through the summer. Their contract states that they will work 180 instructional days and 5 workshop days. This works out to approximately 26 weeks give or take. Their contract states that they will start no sooner than 15 minutes before school starts and leave no earlier than 15 minutes after the final bell. Not many teachers stay around, sit in a parking lot and watch the mass exodus. Then you have to take into account that they get lunch and breaks. Hence, the birth of the itinerant teaching position to cover their “free” time. So in the elementary school the union lets teachers work approximately 7 hours a day. The high school is a different story altogether one free period is 90 minutes.Yes, 90 minutes! The taxpayer needs to do the math and see what the average hourly wage is for a school teacher (based on 180 days of instruction, 7 hours a day), a wage you are supporting, a wage most of you would like to receive rather than pay. I hope you are sitting down before you hit the enter key and see the total.
As Taxpayers, we additionally pay for course reimbursement which then gives them another pay increase. Then add in longevity, stipends and 14 sick days a year. The bottom line is the Teacher’s Union just doesn’t get it. Because they have ALWAYS been under contracts that give and give, they have NOT missed a year without an increase while the private sector has been feeling the painful downward spiral of the economy for at least 2 years, if not more. Taxpayers have NO more money for unions but maybe Everyday Math has them confused! As more families head to the /poor house,/ how will this be good “for the children”?
Sue O’Connor